briztoon Posted September 5, 2012 Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 Woke up yesterday to find the female from my latest pair, White Water - Fancy Dragon Halfmoon Plakat Betta Pair, sulking and listless in the sorority tank. So I put her in to quarantine. Woke up to day to find her deceased. I'm truly gutted. She was my pride and joy of my females, as she was by far the best looking. She looked like she was fitting in, no damage to her fins, just a little aloof from the other females. Why does cr@p happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild Nut Posted September 5, 2012 Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 That is such horrible news. She was such a sassy looking little thing. I say it a hundred times, but it is always one's best or favourite fish that seem to keel over unexpectedly. I myself had a death this morning so I know how you are feeling. Feels somewhat similar to a big kick in the guts. Hopefully you can find another equally as nice female later down the track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted September 5, 2012 Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 Sorry Pete. It sux. Seems to be a fairly common trait with these %#*% fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2littlerevheads Posted September 5, 2012 Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 sorry for ur loss pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forever_and_a_day Posted September 5, 2012 Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 that sucks like crazy D': i swear it's the ones you like the most that end up doing annoying you the most with their #$%^&* :alright: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Posted September 5, 2012 Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 Bugger..... Mmmm.... I have a theory.....no evidence or fact....and lots of assumption I imagine fancy bettas are raised in Asia in pretty soft /acid water.....rainwater/pond water+ ketapang leaves When they get here most keep them in treated tap water.....harder more alkaline Many bacteria won't survive acid water....so these fish grow up with no immunity to many bacteria Once placed in local alkaline water they are exposed to bacteria they've never encountered and some don't take the change well I'd suggest Imported fancy bettas should be maintained in soft acid water......any fry then raised in local water??? As I said lots of assumptions....and I maybe totally wrong....but I have found bacterial infections a major cause of death of soft water fish that are kept in local water! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiameseFightingFist Posted September 5, 2012 Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 That sounds like a reasonable hypothesis Rod. Briztoon - these things are the absolute worst part of fishkeeping, heart wrenching. There have been a few times when I've wanted to give it all up because of this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briztoon Posted September 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 Thanks guys. I appreciate all the comments. Spent the morning doing water changes. It looks like my male Blue HM that had the damaged dorsal is slowly coming good. It appears the damage is slowly repairing itself, and I think I can see some colour starting to "bleached" area. I have been using a half dose of tetracycline for the past five days. I'll update the other thread in a week or so, when I'm positive he's on the mend. Rod we've spoken about Brisabne water and soft water fish in the past. I do agree with your theory. At the moment I am mixing 50% rain water and 50% tap water in a barrel and ageing. I also add two buckets of IAL home brew tea to the barrel. So far I have only lost 3 bettas. My original Aquabid purchase, same thing happened to him after about 3 months, one day he was listless, the next day dead. My female Smaragdina, again same thing, and now this female. I may increase the amount of rain water in my mix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbournebetta Posted September 5, 2012 Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 Rod, I have to echo your idea, for a long while it's been my thought that the imports are robust little dudes - while they're over in Thailand or O/S however when they come here their immune systems are introduced to a thousand new things, and they just don't have the resilience that Aussie bred fish do. Needless to say the Aussie bred fish also don't have the enormous trauma of freighting to send a big frilly invitation to diseases, and lower the immunity. Im a breeder, so it suits me to say this, but: Bris, chin up - spend more, that's how it works - it's never fun (I found the body of a crispy jumper s'morning too) Maybe we should all start investing in saratoga ....they have a longer life expectancy yeh? x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6ftaquaman Posted September 5, 2012 Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 what is the normal life expectancy range of a betta? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted September 5, 2012 Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 2 years and you doing pretty good. Hear of longer but usually VT. Sometimes I feel like six months is an achievement. :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiameseFightingFist Posted September 5, 2012 Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 Are you sure it's two years? I thought in optimal or natural conditions they could live up to 5 years? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted September 5, 2012 Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 That's what I thought. And you should breed in first 12 mths. Could always be wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild Nut Posted September 5, 2012 Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 Yeah I always hear 5-7 years for a betta. But damned if I can get mine past the two year mark. Usually the people I see whose bettas lived for years and years keep them in tiny unheated bowls that get changed once every blue moon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bettarazzi Posted September 5, 2012 Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 I have a salamander female I got from Neffy which is about 3 years old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6ftaquaman Posted September 5, 2012 Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 wow 2 years isnt very long. I am assuming the 5-7 years is probably in their natural habitat though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briztoon Posted September 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 wow 2 years isnt very long. I am assuming the 5-7 years is probably in their natural habitat though. I highly doubt that. I would be surprised if a betta in the wild lived more than two years. Predation would do 99% of bettas in. Males would have to fight for territory and breeding rights, this always takes a toll on their life span. In general, the smaller the fish, the shorter the life span. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild Nut Posted September 5, 2012 Report Share Posted September 5, 2012 Haha I watched a video on fish in the amazon and my God. They were getting eaten from below, from above, from the side. Then the river dried up and they were either slowly suffocating or being stabbed and pecked at from birds on the banks. Mother Nature can be one nasty piece of business I never want to come back as a wild animal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6ftaquaman Posted September 6, 2012 Report Share Posted September 6, 2012 Geez, makes you wonder how they have survived extinction :giggle: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted September 6, 2012 Report Share Posted September 6, 2012 Asked someone tonight and she said they can live 3-5 years. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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